Local woman’s story teaches us how to live life to its fullest

I am presently employed as a part-time chaplain for Journey Hospice whose office is in Houma. In this capacity, I help people with life-limiting illnesses to deal with end-of-life issues so they can meet our loving God with peace of mind. We also provide a positive, supportive environment to caregivers, who have the tremendous task of aiding people during this difficult time.

Hospice care can be a source of spiritual and emotional bonding for families.

This work is very rewarding especially when we can help a person work through various issues. It is also interesting to listen to people’s life stories.

One of my patients, Linda Lahme, is a nurse by profession. With her permission, I would like to share some of her life experiences – not to canonize her, but to learn from them. Self-help author Brian Tracy once said, “If you admire successful people, you create a positive force field of attraction that draws you toward becoming more and more like the kind of people that you want to be like.”

Linda’s husband died in 1997. She was a Catholic then. However, the people who belonged to her congregation failed to reach out to her during this time of sorrow. Members of St. John Episcopal Church reached out to her and she changed her religion.

The first lesson we can learn from Linda’s life is that we are all members of the Body of Christ, not just for our own wellbeing, but for the salvation of the members.

We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers. We need to be aware of what is happening to each other so that no one “slips through the cracks.”

Three years after her husband’s death, Linda decided she wanted to “reinvent her life.” So she decided to join the Peace Corps. She went to Zambia where one out of every four people is HIV positive and the overall income is $1 a day. She helped educate women regarding the causes of HIV and also provided clean water by digging new wells.

Linda’s second lesson teaches us is once we’ve gone through life’s sorrows, we can reinvent ourselves. Chris Majer, CEO of the Human Potential Project, tells us, “We are not forever bound by the circumstances of our birth or the occurrences of any particular moment and can, if we so choose and if we know how, reinvent ourselves and our futures.”

Linda remained in Zambia after she finished her four years in the Peace Corps. She started a foundation called the Luapula Foundation that provides care for AIDS orphans and HIV education for school children and the general public.

Linda has also adopted a young Zambian lady, Winnie Kunda, when she was a teenager and helped her finish her high school education. Linda is now sponsoring Winnie in medical school in Russia. The money could have been used for Linda’s own cancer treatments.

The third lesson we can learn is to invest in human potential. Many people in Zambia would be dead by now if it were not for Linda’s foundation. Winnie could not become a medical doctor if Linda had not invested her time and money in her life. We can all make a difference in our world. How can we invest our time and money to improve other people’s lives?

Linda is flying back to Zambia on Feb. 14. She wants to live her life fully until the Lord calls her home. That is our last lesson. Live life fully until we meet the Lord.

If you would like to invest in Linda’s mission, call St. John Episcopal Church at (985) 447-2910 or visit www.luapulafoundation.org for more information.